This invention relates to tire building apparatus, and, more particularly, to tire building apparatus wherein the carcass material is expanded pneumatically, without use of any solid expansion members.
It is a primary object of the present invention to afford a novel tire building apparatus.
A further object of the present invention is to afford a novel tire building apparatus wherein the carcass material, between the beads, is expanded pneumatically, in a novel and expeditious manner, without the use of solid expansion members.
Another object is to afford a novel tire building apparatus wherein the carcass material, between the beads, is expanded pneumatically by the direct application of air against the carcass material.
A further object of the present invention is to afford a novel tire building apparatus of the aforementioned type, wherein ply turn-up operations and the application of the side wall components may be effected pneumatically.
Tire building apparatus, wherein the portion of the carcass material disposed between the beads is expanded pneumatically, has been heretofore known in the art, being shown, for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,035,629, issued May 22, 1962 to M. Vanzo et al, and 3,053,308, issued Sept. 11, 1962 to M. Vanzo et al; and in my co-pending application for U.S. Patent, Ser. No. 087,876 filed Oct. 24, 1979, and which is a continuation-in-part of my earlier filed, co-pending application for U.S. Patent, Ser. No. 944,578, filed Sept. 21, 1978, which is now abandoned. It is an important object of the present invention to afford improvements over such tire building apparatus heretofore known in the art.
Also, tire building apparatus wherein the ply turn-up operations and the application of side wall components have been effected pneumatically have been heretofore known in the art, being shown, for example, in the aforementioned Vanzo et al Pat. No. 3,053,308, and in U.S. Pat. No. 3,833,445, issued Sept. 3, 1974 to Edwin E. Mallory and myself, as well as in my aforementioned application for U.S. Patent now pending and in my aforementioned application for U.S. Patent, Ser. No. 944,578. It is another important object of the present invention to afford improvements over such tire building apparatus heretofore known in the art.
Another object of the present invention is to afford a novel tire building apparatus wherein, during the operation thereof, the carcass-forming operations are preformed in a novel and expeditious manner.
An object ancillary to the foregoing is to afford a novel tire building apparatus of the aforementioned type wherein the aforementioned operations are preformed pneumatically.
One of the problems which has heretofore been common in the operation of the tire building apparatus heretofore known in the art, wherein the carcass material, between the beads, has been expanded outwardly by members actuated mechanically or pneumatically, has been that the green tire components tend to stick or adhere to the members after expansion. Another problem has been that the aforementioned carcass material tends to take on irregularities, such as bulges or other unevenness, that may be present in the members effecting the expansion of the carcass material.
It is an important object of the present invention to enable such carcass material to be expanded, in a novel and expeditious manner, without the use of internal expansion members.
Another object is to afford a novel tire building apparatus in the operation of which the expansion of the carcass material, between the beads, may be effected in a novel and expeditious manner, without subjecting it to deformation by, or adherence to internal expansion members.
Yet another object of the present invention is to afford a novel tire building apparatus wherein the components of the apparatus may be quickly and easily changed to adapt the apparatus for the building of various size tires, without extensitve over-haul of the apparatus and without prolonged shut-down time thereof.
Another object of the present invention is to afford a novel tire building apparatus of the aforementioned type which embodies a novel intermediate drum and two end drums, disposed on respective opposite sides of the intermediate drum, constituted and arranged in a novel and expeditious manner.
A further object of the present invention is to afford a novel tire building apparatus which may be used to build a complete tire in a single stage.
Another object of the present invention is to afford a novel tire building apparatus which may be used to complete the building of a tire that has been pre-constructed on another suitable apparatus.
Another object of the present invention is to afford a novel tire building apparatus of the aforementioned type which is practical and efficient in operation, and which may be readily and economically produced commercially.
Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show the preferred embodiments of the present invention and the principles thereof, and what I now consider to be the best mode in which I have contemplated applying these principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention and the purview of the appended claims.